Archive for the ‘Sony’ Category

My “Games Completed” list this year is quite good. Part of that is that my total number of games played is inversely proportional to the amount of time I play World of Warcraft. Meaning I didn’t play much Warcraft this year, so I played a lot of other things. The other reason is that I really tried to put an emphasis on completing games this year. I pick up a lot of games and tend to dabble a lot, but I’m easily distracted by the next thing and leave many games hanging. This year I dabbled less and finished more. So without further ado…

Of the recent main series of Final Fantasy games, I really enjoyed Final Fantasy XI and Final Fantasy XII. I didn’t play FF XI very long, mainly because after a certain point you were pretty much required to group with people to advance, which really didn’t suit my playstyle or available time. Final Fantasy XII took me two years to complete, though I mainly played it in two large blocks, with years in-between. I loved the style and most of the gameplay mechanics.

I tried to avoid a lot of news or info on Final Fantasy XIII before playing it, but it looked to be similar to both of those titles, making it a must-get game on release day. But games like FF XIII require quite a large time investment. You could probably play Halo 1-3 and ODST in the same time it’d take you to finish FF XIII. So was it worth the time and effort, or will it be my Final Fantasy? (I had to go there. It’s over now.)

Getting that shiny new disc in the mail this week for instant streaming Netflix on your Wii? I got it today and gave it a try. Works pretty well on the little console that could. Better than on the PS3 for standard def streaming and load times!

Like this:

What the hell happened to my PlayStation 3’s 10-year life cycle? In 2006 Sony Computer Entertainment America President and CEO Kaz Hirai stated:

We look at our products having a 10-year life cycle, which we’ve proven with the PlayStation. Therefore, the PlayStation 3 is going to be a console that’s going to be with you again for 10 years. We’re not going to ask the consumers to suddenly buy another PlayStation console in five years time, and basically have their investment go by the wayside.

This was reiterated over and over in the early days of the PS3 when Sony’s console sales were in the toilet. Well it’s been a little over 3 years since the PlayStation 3 launched in the U.S. and it seems like lately I’ve had nothing but trouble with my original 60GB 1st gen PlayStation 3. First, Batman: Arkham Asylum started freezing on me in late August. Then I got the God of War Collection, and it freezes on me on the first boss battle in the first God of War game! And then starting yesterday, PlayStation 3’s across the globe started having glitches such as error codes, lost trophies, and unplayable games (to which Sony advised owners not to even turn their consoles on!). The common thread here? These are all issues with non-Slim PlayStation 3 consoles, a.k.a. PS3 Fat’s or PS3 Phat’s.

So am I going to have to buy the new PS3 Slim three years into my console’s famed “10 year life cycle” in order to get a console that works properly all the time with new and older games? As far as I know, the problem with Batman: Arkham Asylum and the God of War Collection are known issues that have never been patched or fixed. And as of this post, the current worldwide issue is apparently magically fixed, though no explanation has yet been given for what happened or what Sony will do to prevent it in the future. Coincidence or Planned Obsolescence? I want my 1st gen console to work with every game, every time, just like the latest gen one. I want my promised 10-year life cycle!

By description, Heavy Rain is the type of game to which I would naturally gravitate. Developer Quantic Dream describes it as interactive drama, which smacks of my love of interactive fiction, choose your own adventures, and point-and-click games. The game uses a unique control scheme that uses context sensitive actions and quick time events to tell the story of four characters and the mystery of the Origami Killer. So what’s my take on this new interactive drama?

I tend to buy more games than I play, and play more games than I finish, so I though this year I’d make a list of games played, with an * next to ones I’ve finished. I’m sure this list will miss a lot, but here’s a go at it.

Age of Booty (XBLA) *

Animal Crossing: City Fold (Wii)

Batman: Arkham Asylum (PS3)

The Beatles: Rock Band (Xbox 360) *

Bejeweled Blitz (web & iPod touch)

Beneath a Steel Sky Remastered (iPod Touch)

Beyond Good And Evil (Gamecube)

Chrono Trigger (DS)

Deadly Creatures (Wii)

Dead Space (PS3)

Dragon Age: Origins (XBLA)

Dragon’s Lair (iPod Touch)

Dungeon Hunter (iPod Touch)

Etrian Odyssey II: Heroes of Lagaard (DS)

Fable II (Xbox 360)

Farmville (web)

Flower (PSN) *

Final Fantasy XII (PS2) *

Gears of War (Xbox 360) *

Gears of War 2 (Xbox 360) *

God of War (PS2)

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (DS)

Halo: Combat Evolved (Xbox) *

Halo 2 (Xbox)

House of the Dead: Overkill (Wii) *

Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings (Wii)

The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks (DS)

Legends of Zork (web)

LEGO Rock Band (Xbox 360) *

Metroid Prime (Gamecube)

Moon (DS)

New Super Mario Bros Wii (Wii)

NyxQuest: Kindred Spirits (Wiiware)

Pac-Man Championship Edition (XBLA & iPod Touch)

Peggle (iPod Touch)

Resident Evil 5 (Xbox 360) *

Resistance 2 (PS3) *

Rock Band (iPod Touch)

The Secret of Monkey Island Special Edition (XBLA & iPod Touch)

Shadow Complex (XBLA) *

Silent Hill: Shattered Memories (Wii)

Sims 3 (Mac)

Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)

Tales of Monkey Island Part 1 (Wiiware)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time Reshelled (XBLA)

Toki Tori (Wiiware)

Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune (PS3) *

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (PS3) *

Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos (Mac) *

Wii Sports Resort (Wii)

World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King (Mac)

Not a bad list. I actually finished more than I expected. Sadly, there are no PSP games on that list. Not a good year for the PSP, even outside the PSP Go fiasco. The Playstation 3, the console I have the least amount of games for, actually had a very good showing this year.

For those that just have to know, my Game of the Year, without a shred of doubt, is Uncharted 2: Among Thieves.